Maggiano's Little Italy

Last night a vendor took us out to Maggiano's Little Italy in Richmond Heights. I did a little research online before we left to see if anyone had found anything gluten-free there to eat. There were rave reviews about the service of the staff and the lengths the kitchen went to in order to ensure everyone, regardless of what they 'can't' have were able to enjoy their experience. I was a little nervous about trying their gluten-free pasta, as I haven't heard great things about rice pasta. Little did I know, there is pasta that is also made from corn, which Maggiano's happens to serve. From the beginning I told the waitress I couldn't have gluten. She asked what else I couldn't have and as I told her, she made a list. Then she went to the kitchen and told them and one of the chefs came out and talked to me about my options. He assured me that the corn pasta was great quality and tasted great. So I ordered the Chicken Fettucini with the corn pasta. I was nervous still about trying the gluten-free pasta but thought 'No better time to try it than when a vendor is paying for it!' A short time later, the waitress came up and was very apologetic because apparently they had run out of the gluten-free pasta. :-( So she said the chef was making me Chicken Parmesan because I had mentioned earlier that I liked it. And instead of using flour, he used corn starch for the base of the breading. They brought it out and I have to say, it was delicious! While it is a very expensive restaurant, I'd definitely like to go back there when they have the corn-based pasta. Overall, it was an awesome experience and the food was really good. Oh and as if that were not enough, everyone ordered dessert and I was left thinking 'Um...what about me?' They actually serve a gluten-free dessert (cookies or something I think) but since I can't have sugar, it was out for me. So I had seen that they served fresh berries with some of their desserts and asked the waitress what kind of fruit they had. She told me grapes, melons, strawberries, mixed berries...all things I can't have. I was a bit disappointed and told her those were all fruits I couldn't have. She asked what I liked and I said pineapples or bananas. She said they didn't have pineapples but she could bring me banana. So when everyone got their desserts, she place a small bowl of cut up banana in front of me. Not my ideal dessert, but it was nice to be able to eat something 'sweet' with the rest of the group.